[bargoo]

Was this a Korean child? Koreans do wear special clothing to funerals but I doubt if they will be offended if non Koreans don't follow their custom. To attend the funeral is showing respect and concern for the family, I am sure they will appreciate that.

[traveling michele]

Yes, Bargoo, she was Korean. I should have asked my Korean sister-in-law. I didn't think about it. Like you said though, just being there will be showing the family how much we are thinking about them.

[paperclippy]

Michele, I think whatever you wear will be fine. The only thing I know about East Asian funerals is in general you should avoid red. When our neighbors' son died we made sure to give them all white flowers (they are Chinese).

The first funeral I remember going to was my aunt's funeral when I was in high school. It was much more traumatic than the funerals I have been to since, because my aunt died suddenly and unexpectedly (brain aneurism), whereas the other funerals have all been for elderly people. I don't recall knowing anyone in school who died. There were a couple people that I have heard since graduating have passed away but after so many years I barely knew them.

Our neighbors' son dying was pretty sudden. Early in the morning someone found him laying in the street and he died from internal bleeding. Originally they thought he had slipped on the ice and fallen, but now it is pretty certain that he was hit by the school bus (and somehow neither the bus driver or any of the kids on the bus realized it, they just kept driving). We didn't really know the family at all but I had seen their son walking to catch the bus pretty frequently. Since then the family has had another child.

Allison, I hope Chico is okay.

Dagmar, have fun with the new puppies!

I'm wondering if we should take Carter back to doggie physical therapy. He still walks pretty goofy, but I don't know if there is anything PT could do for it or if it is just permanent nerve damage. It has been four months since his surgery. We still haven't managed to get the pads on the bottom of his paw hardened up. I thought he was doing pretty well and he wasn't getting scraped up on a regular short walk, but DH took him for a long walk without the boot and his foot started bleeding. I think maybe it wouldn't happen if he didn't walk so funny.

Meanwhile we have a session scheduled with the behaviorist tomorrow night. I feel bad because I have been slacking off on training with him. His stay is only good for up to a minute and a half even though I've been trying to extend it. Also, the last couple times I tried to do sessions where we leave him with his everlasting treat ball alone in a room separated from us, he has shown no interest in the treat ball (I think since it's been so hot).

[traveling michele]

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and advice.
Just back from the funeral. My daughter went too.
It was heartbreaking and sweet and sad.
Her kindergarten teacher spoke.
She was best friends with a little boy at our school (also in K) and his dad spoke. He was there too and wearing pink (her favorite color). I don't know how a little boy could possibly understand what is going on.
We found out that her (Hannah's) birthday was the same as Dewey's and she loved dogs. My daughter was crying because she was hoping Hannah could play with our dog Ozzie who died this year.
I didn't think her mom would be there but she was (in a wheelchair). She was inconsolable.

My daughter and I shared a lot of hugs tonight. I feel wiped out.

[BillBlueEyes]

Sending hugs, Michele, that's a tough day.

[Mudpie]

Michele

Dagmar

[Mudpie]

For years I have been reading Martha Beck's column in "O" magazine. They recently reposted a column online about eating/dieting.

It mentions a book called "The Four-Day Win".

Anyone read it? Heard of it?

Thanks!
Dagmar

[saef]

Oh, Michele. Still, I am so glad to hear that you went.

I'm sitting in my overly airconditioned workplace in Connecticut, with the tips of my toes in my sandals getting colder & colder. Outside, it's supposed to reach 98 degrees today. This seems awfully sudden for such a high temperature -- isn't that supposed to wait till July?

[traveling michele]

Today is my last day of school with kids. I still work through next week. It is always bittersweet. It is also my daughter's last day as a Junior. One more year and she'll be off to college and I'll be an empty nester. Sometimes I wonder why I had my kids so young! When my mom was my age, I was 4 years old! But I'm sure I'll enjoy the time to travel, exercise, etc.

So, I never understand the heat/humidity levels in Bikram Yoga. I know it is supposed to be constant but sometimes I sweat way more than other times. Perhaps I'm ridding sodium in my body, or the temperature outside is different. Who knows! But yesterday I sweat more than I've ever sweat. It was ridiculous. Class ended at 6:05 and the funeral started at 7:00. I took the fastest shower ever and went there sopping wet!

My weight was super low this morning. I always thought it would be cool to see my weight under 120 and this morning it was 119.8 but it was very anti-climatic. Today I feel nauseous and drained so I better drink up! I drank at least 2 gallons of water yesterday between yoga and the rest of my day but I barely had to pee this morning so I know I am/was dehydrated.

[Shannon in ATL]

Michele - not a wonder you felt tired and drained today. Hope you get some rest today, and make sure to hydrate. It is hot out there.

Allison - I'm feeling particularly vulnerable to a sense of inevitable failure right now and have found myself saying "that is just too hard" a lot lately. When I read the new quote in my signature on your FB page it talked to me and has stayed in my mind, so I've pirated it for my siggie. Thanks for posting it - it came at a good time.

[Megan1982]

Morning all,

I'm feeling rather drained today and so glad I finally get to spend a day in the office. Besides having lots too do at my computer, I've been in the sun too much this week. Yesterday was particularly bad - all 3 of us in the field finished all of our water, and the project we're working on is more intensive than normal this summer and we didn't finish until 3 pm, way past when we thought we'd be done. We were hot, exhausted, and just couldn't have done it for another hour, in fact, I was about to call it when we finished. We'll change some things about how we're doing this project... but LSS I'm still tired this AM!

I'm also going to start bringing a little Gatorade and see if that helps me. I've always been from the school of "don't drink your calories" and didn't want to "spend" my calories on sports drinks, but I think sweating so much in this heat might change that. Has anyone tried G2? I think it's supposed to work the same, but be lower cal.

The big plans for this weekend are sushi night w the girls at my house Saturday, along with the usual chores, exercise and eating OP. Hopefully a little extra sleep and relaxation thrown in, too. What's everyone else doing?

Michele, you sound drained too! I know things have been really hectic for you - is there an end in sight?

Michele, my parents had us pretty young and are enjoying a little more time now. My sis and I say my mom, who's always been rather shy, became a social butterfly when we left home getting involved w all kinds of local organizations. Of course they spoil their dog rotten. He's the one child who didn't leave them, lol.

Saef, personally I would prefer if it were never this hot & humid. I think I moved to the wrong state.

Jessica, how was the session w the behaviorist? Did he give you any advice on Carter's paw? I've been considering some professional training for Emma - can I ask what you pay for a private session?

Alison, my first thought would be some kind of compulsive disorder, except obviously you know your dog doesn't do it all the time. Let us know what your research tells you.

Have a good Friday and weekend everyone! Stay hydrated and cool everyone!

[alinnell]

Megan~I haven't tried G2, but do like Vitamin Water Zero (no calories). I don't know if they have the electrolytes you're looking for, though. And no, Chico's thing is totally involuntary. He hasn't done it again that we've seen, so I'm thinking he was just worn out for some reason.

So my weight loss has stalled. Over a week with no loss. I'm starting to worry a bit. DH is in the same boat.

[paperclippy]

Allison, stick it out, one week isn't long enough to worry yet.

Megan, we paid $415 for 5 lessons with this person. I think she is pricier though because she deals with aggressive dogs. If you are just wanting basic training and your dog is friendly, I would go for group classes rather than private lessons. Also, I've had G2 before, it seems just as good as regular Gatorade to me. If you need the sugar that it's regular Gatorade it wouldn't be as good probably but if it's just for the electrolytes it's fine. Another thing you could try is some energy gel/blocks.

In terms of his paw we think part of it at the moment might be that his nails are getting long again. We're going to try to start working on desensitizing him to having his nails done again (we got impatient before and figured as long as we could get them done without getting bitten it was okay, but it would really be better for it to not be such a big deal for him. The plan is to this weekend do his nails like we normally do to get them more reasonable, then start the desensitization. We're trying the Thundershirt again -- I think I was just putting it on him wrong before. The behaviorist suggested that if we get stuck trying to desensitize him and reduce his fear aggression we could try talking to our vet about doggie Prozac. I guess she has had dogs before where they put them on doggie Prozac for maybe 6 months which is long enough to get the dog's behavior modified, then wean them off the drugs and the behavior sticks. I don't know if we really want to go that far with Carter though.

In weight news, no positive changes here. I'm still within acceptable range although a bit higher than I'd like to be. I'm having trouble staying OP since I can't exercise due to my health issues. My appointment with the new rheumatologist is a week from Monday and I really hope he can help me out somehow. I'm encouraged by how detailed his new patient forms are -- way more detailed than the other doctors I've seen.

[saef]

On the Gatorade thing, I don't understand the proper use of this stuff. When do people actually need it, and when don't they? I am sure there are times when it's invaluable for people who are outdoors working in this weather, like Meagan, and not just a highly caloric accessory consumed by those who like to look sporty & to resemble their favorite pro ball players. But what is the threshhold?

About sweating harder in Bikram at some times than others: My gym is deeply airconditioned, but some of the quality of the outside air still finds its way inside past the closed doors & windows. I'm sweating really hard lately & I think it's from an increase in humidity. The air in the gym is well-chilled but still more damp than it was just a few weeks ago.

I no longer understand my menstrual cycle. I'm going through the whole damn thing again, less than 10 days after it ended. Perhaps it's making up for the previous month, when I went for more than eight weeks without anything. If this is my body's version of the onset of perimenopause, then the real thing, menopause itself, is gonna be pretty whacked.

I think it came on because I mentioned running through a meadow in a white dress last week.

But that at least makes me a little more comfortable with my annoying recent slight weight gain. Some of it has to be fluid retention.

[paperclippy]

Saef, energy gels/drinks are generally recommended for when you are doing high-intensity exercise for longer than an hour. So if you're running a marathon, you are generally supposed to take an energy gel/drink once per hour during the run. I don't know what all is involved in Megan's field work, but I assume it's somewhat less intense than running a marathon so once an hour would probably be overkill.

I can tell you that I have found gatorade or Clif shot blocks make me feel much better after a 1+ hour workout than a banana does.